TinDE

You’ve gone through a lot. Don’t be so hard on yourself. (Too bad I don’t listen to my own advice lol). You’ve already started making positive changes. I’m glad you made an account and joined us!!

it’s hard to make friends sometimes. Most people these days meet online I think. I don’t mean dating sites. My husband and I were both young widows and we met on a support group board. We still have friends all over the world from that group. There are a million boards out there. Hobbies, interests, even just general resident of your state kind of boards. Also check out meetup.com in your area.

Keep us posted!

Doctor's office spoke to insurance company and surgery is "on" for Monday. I'm halfway through pre-op. Not sure if I'm excited, nervous, terrified, or panicked. LOL

Good luck First Weekers!! Keep us posted!

Happy August fellow bypassers!!! Who's going this week?

You're welcome. As long as you meet the criteria with the new insurance you should be good. I'm still waiting to hear back from insurance on the pre-auth after they sent the corrected paperwork. My surgery is Aug 9 so I'm getting slightly nervous. I'll let you know if I run into any problems.

13 minutes ago, Jen-ny said:

Hi! My husband may be changing jobs next month and so our insurance would change. (Both insurances cover wls.) I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and if it delayed their surgery at all? Thank you.

I was in that situation. I started my program in January. My husband changed jobs in June. My surgery is scheduled for August 1. I’m waiting for approval from insurance. I did get a denial last week but only because they were missing paperwork from the surgeon. No issues getting my office visits and tests covered.

I"m worried too but I agree that hospitals are better equipped to handle things now. I'm thinking worse case scenario they may go back to no visitors or something.

T.

39 minutes ago, Going2bthin said:

Ok, time for honesty for me. I’m on day 8 of my preop and on a couple of these days I was so low blood sugar I was shaking (I’m not diabetic). To fix this, I had about 200 calories of cheese. I’ve also gone from 6 caffeinated beverages a day before the preop diet to 2. Tomorrow I’ll start tapering down to 1 cup of coffee. I have a demanding and stressful job and I still need to function. Have I totally gone off the rails?

I wonder if it’s nit blood sugar but withdrawal from the caffeine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I weaned myself off coffee.... well..kinda. I went to half caf and then to Decaf . I figured I don't want to go through caffeine withdrawal on top of everything else. I'm on day 2 of pre-op and I've been using my (decaf) cold brew with a scoop of mocha Cappuccino Protein Powder.

My surgeon's office has no coffee at all for 2 weeks after surgery.

8 minutes ago, cheryl o said:

i had the same feeling and spent a week depressed, i spoke to my dietician about it and she said, thats called "the last supper mentality" and we cant think like that cause itll birth depression after surgery. She said we (me and you and everyone who has this procedure ) will still be able to eat what we like, EXCEPT in smaller quantities. (to keep from gaining weight)

Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

Thanks so much Cheryl. That makes sense. I did feel like “well this is the last time I’ll be eating at this restaurant.” I have struggled with depression but it’s been under control for YEARS. I had to change my meds from Extended release to SR. I think it was just the perfect storm. Thank you!!

I'll be honest...I've had a bunch of mini meltdowns over the last few days. I'm chalking it up to some stressors we've been going through, but all weekend I've been second guessing myself. Some of our kids were here and we went out to dinner a few times and all I kept thinking is "Am I going to be able to do this again?" Am I going to be able to eat out? Have wine out? go on vacation and feel normal?? etc. I never really thought I was obsessed with food...but I was this weekend!! LOL Then I started second guessing myself. UGH.

Also, not being sure about insurance isn't helping. I got that denial letter and the person who does the pre-auths was on vacation and back today. I have an appt tomorrow with the nurse practitioner so hopefully I'll get some good news.

Other than that, just losing my mind.

11 hours ago, Pennykay said:

My surgeon allows sugar free applesauce. I can’t have any cheese but I don’t know the reason. LOL. I have been putting a bit of non sugar sweetener and cinnamon on my oatmeal and it’s been pretty good. 🙂

I've heard about Torani sugar free syrups. I've tried some that I bought at Bed bath and beyond. Can't remember the name. Skinny Syrup or something. They're actually pretty good. I think they could jazz up anything!! The Torani brand has tons of flavors. I found this blog http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/p/links-resources.html . There's a lot of info in there and some recipes that look really good!!

1 hour ago, Lem32 said:

So what type of surgery is everyone planning on getting? And was it the surgery you were going to get and your Dr changed your mind???

I also have Barrett's, GERD and a hiatal hernia (which they are supposed to repair during surgery) so really RNY was my only option. My biggest concerns are the dumping and the malabsorption of vitamins/meds.

9 hours ago, cellbell said:

How are everyone's pre-op diets going? I start on Wednesday and I'm nervous but excited. My doctor's plan is pretty reasonable--two weeks of 2 Protein Shakes, one healthy meal, and a couple of Snacks a day if needed. The key is that I have to stay under 50g carbs and 1000 calories. It sounds a lot like doing slimfast when I was younger so I just hope it's more successful lol.

Still just waiting on my FMLA paperwork for work but otherwise everything is all set. I had my last pre-op appointment today to go over medications etc and I guess I'm ready?

I start mine on Monday. Pretty similar. Also 1000 calories. I can also have two Lean Cuisine/smart ones type dinners also (less than 300 calories), a fruit, veg and some SF Snacks.

Maybe they’re just setting up the monthly schedule. It’s like 5-6 weeks out. You’ll be able to get everything done.

Thanks. It *is* super irritating. I feel like I'm back in limbo again. I hope I don't have to change my surgery date.

Ugh. Just got word that insurance denied my surgery. They claim they got "no" medical information. HUH?? It's a surgeon's office and they have a dedicated person who does authorizations. It's not like she sent my name in on a post-it note. So angry, depressed, annoyed!! Doctor's office is on it , but still.

9 hours ago, Pennykay said:

I started my pre op diet today. I have a couple of questions. Am I allowed to have an occasional cough drop? Do Protein Shakes count towards my daily liquid goal? I am allowed non-starchy vegetables. Am I able to make a small salad and use olive oil for the dressing? And lastly it seems like everything on my list of things to eat is sweet. OK not everything, but Between the shakes, and the pudding, and the Jell-O etc. it’s just a bit much for me. Anyway…day one completed!

EEEK!! Exciting!!! LOL Congrats on day 1! I start on Monday.

It seems like each surgeon has their own idea of what a pre op diet is but for MY program on one sample day they have 4 oz fish/2 cups salad/90 calories light Salad Dressing. Then they have a food exchange list and it shows 2 T low fat salad dressing is 45 calories and 1 t olive oil is 45 calories. Since I'm allowed 2 fats - that also lists Peanut Butter, avocado, olives, and some nuts. I guess it depends on how your program is set up.

I don't see anything too interesting on my "Free foods" - just the SF Jello, pudding, popsicles, etc. Everything is sweet like that except maybe herbal tea, broth, bouillon.

Edited to add: My plan allows me to count Protein Shakes toward my liquids for the day. Not sure on the cough drop though (maybe if it has no sugar?)

Does the pre op approval say how long it’s good for? Usually it says you have to have th3 procedure within 30/60/90 days

Great topic! I think we can all relate and have similar fears. For me -- will I lose weight? Can I do this forever? Can I keep up with the vitamin/supplement routine? What if I can't get enough Water and Protein in me? What about dumping? Will I ever be able to eat foods I love again? Will I be able to travel and enjoy food/wine?

My husband will be at the hospital during surgery. My son said he'd come and hang out with him...though honestly they'll both probably be sitting there looking at their phones. I think he'll stay till I'm in a room and settled. I'm assuming I'll sleep. The plan is only one overnight so he'll come back the next day to pick me up.

Thanks PennyKay!! All my regular testing has been done for quite a while. My surgeon requires the last set of labs and EKG to be done within 30 days of surgery.

I'm 59 and having a bypass in 3 weeks. I just have HTN and apparently now I have sleep apnea, but there is a strong family history of diabetes and heart problems. I do have issues with reflux and Barrett's esophagus so that's why I'm getting the bypass.

Exciting!!! I haven't heard anything from insurance. Next week I have to go for pre-op labs and EKG. I'm hoping to hear approval before then. Or maybe I should put them off. Not sure what to do there.

I think most people have been posting on the other thread with the Sleevers. I was hoping more of us bypassers would post on here since it'll be a little different for us.

So we're all within a few days of each other. EEEK. I'm excited but getting more nervous as it gets closer. Start my pre-op diet on 7/26.

3 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

I was worried about that too but at 4.5 months out I am able to eat everything I ever ate before surgery with the exception of only rice and pop corn and those I just haven’t tried yet because they say they are difficult foods. I have even had steak!!

I'm scheduled for RNY though. So I guess we'll just see how it goes! Trial and error